Quick-service restaurant group Famous Brands is confident of experiencing enough sustained demand to open 80 new restaurants per year on average across its franchises over the next three years, the company said in its 2005 annual report, published on Tuesday.
Anglo American South Africa CEO Lazarus Zim says the company has investment projects totalling $6,2-billion planned over the next four years, of which $4,2-billion is destined for Africa. Anglo American has invested R100-billion in South Africa over the past five years, more than any other company.
The World Economic Forum’s 15th annual Africa Economic Summit has opened in Cape Town with a strong call by business to support the proposals contained in the recent Commission for Africa report for promoting economic growth and development across the continent.
AltX-listed branded food producer All Joy Foods has reported a dip in its headline earnings per share for the year to the end of February 2005 to 6,3 cents, from seven cents a year earlier. No dividend was declared for the year. At the same time, All Joy said it has agreed to acquire 100% of the operations of Retailer Brands.
The World Economic Forum (WEF) begins its 15th annual Africa Economic Summit in Cape Town on Wednesday with leaders from some of Africa’s top companies and multinationals calling for the strong voice of business to be heard in the flow of targeted aid and investment on the continent.
Edgars Consolidated Stores, one of South Africa’s largest retailers, says it has no response to Thursday’s call by the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) for investors to disinvest from Edcon shares. "We can’t comment on what drives fund managers’ investment decisions," said Edcon’s executive manager for investor relations Tessa Christelis on Friday.
Old Mutual, South Africa’s largest financial-services group, made good progress in the area of black economic empowerment (BEE) last year, it has emerged from the company’s <i>2004 Old Mutual Corporate Citizenship Report</i>, released on Thursday. During 2004, Old Mutual facilitated empowerment deals worth R500-million.
Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel has outlined a very favourable picture of South Africa’s economy for the year, pointing to the National Treasury’s expectations of rising gross domestic product growth, low inflation, a very low budget deficit and improving employment trends, as well as continuing strong capital inflows.
Absa, one of South Africa’s "big four" retail banks that will soon be 60% owned by United Kingdom banking giant Barclays, has unveiled a major programme to enhance its brand, called My Bank. Absa said the programme will capitalise on the bank’s well-known pay-off line, "Today, tomorrow, together".
Insurance group Momentum, part of the listed FirstRand group, has made an offer of 175 cents per share to acquire all of rival insurer Sage, in a transaction worth R634-million, the companies announced on Friday. If the offer is successful, Sage will be delisted from the JSE Securities Exchange.
Global brewing giant SABMiller on Thursday reported basic earnings per share of 94,1 United States cents for the year ended March 31 2005, from 54,1 cents a year ago. Adjusted earnings per share were up 33% to 103,2 US cents, while in sterling terms, earnings per share were up 22% to 55,9 pence, from 45,8 pence a year ago.
The release of global brewing giant SABMiller’s final 2005 results on Thursday have highlighted the continued robust growth in its South African beer business, with Beer South Africa recording a 20% rise in its earnings before interest, tax and amortisation in rand (constant currency) terms.
South African clothing retailer Edcon on Wednesday reported a 68% increase in headline earnings per share to R26,61 for the year ended April 2 2005, from R15,88 a year ago. A final dividend of 851 cents per share was declared, up 63% from a year ago, making a total dividend of R13,45.
Four of South Africa’s major clothing retailers — Foschini, Truworths, Woolworths and Edcon — have issued a statement citing their concerns over the state of the local clothing and textile manufacturing industry, but "unequivocally" rejecting calls by unions to sign a code committing them to prescribed local procurement targets.
Listed shipping and transport group Grindrod has acquired a 50% stake in Sheltam Locomotive and Rail Services for an undisclosed amount, the company announced on Monday. Indications by Grindrod management are that it is the largest acquisition in Grindrod’s land-freight expansion programme to date.
Old Mutual, South Africa’s largest financial services group, is in preliminary talks to acquire Skandia Insurance Company of Sweden, Old Mutual confirmed on Friday. In a statement, Old Mutual said discussions are at an early stage and may or may not lead to it making an offer for Skandia.
Global mining giant Anglo American will show a very small decline of nine United States cents in its basic headline earnings per share for the year to the end of December 2004, to $1,79 from $1,88, as it converts to the use of the new European Union standard International Financial Reporting Standards, the company said on Monday.
Listed cement producer Pretoria Portland Cement Company (PPC) has reported a 4% increase in its fully diluted headline earnings per share (Heps) for the six months to the end of March 2005, from 585 cents in the year-earlier period. The company declared an interim dividend of 260 cents per share.
The share price of global pulp and paper producer Sappi fell by 4,3% or R2,89 in early trade on Friday after the company said in its second-quarter results that it does not expect its 2005 full-year earnings to match those of 2004. At 9.50am, Sappi’s shares were quoted on the JSE Securities Exchange at R64,50.
The share price of industrial and construction company Concor jumped 12,5% or R2,50 in early trade on Thursday after it emerged late on Tuesday that two rival construction groups — Murray & Roberts and Wilson Bayly Holmes-Ovcon are interested in taking over Concor.
Listed retailer and distributor Massmart has added yet more popular retail chains to its already wide array of brands, announcing the acquisition on Tuesday of a controlling stake in sports specialist Moresport for R403,8-million in cash. Moresport owns Sportsmans Warehouse, Sport Shoe World and Outdoor Warehouse.
The share price of gaming and hospitality group Peermont Global jumped 4,26% or 30 cents in early trade on Friday after the group revealed it had made it to the next stage in the process of selecting a successful candidate to introduce and operate the first casinos in Singapore.
The financial performance of the Clicks chain of health and beauty stores, owned by New Clicks Holdings, has been dented for the six months to the end of February by continued "shrinkage" — the retail industry’s term for theft — and losses in its pharmacy operations.
South Africa is backing former Zimbabwean finance minister Simba Makoni in the upcoming election of the new president of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB), the multilateral development finance agency focusing on the African continent, the AfDB said on Wednesday.
The wide-ranging black economic empowerment (BEE) transactions unveiled on Tuesday by Old Mutual involving the sale of an overall 12,75% stake in its South African operations to BEE participants will be the "full arrangements" that will be made by the group in terms of BEE ownership.
Listed supermarket group Pick ‘n Pay has reported a 20,6% increase in its headline earnings per share for the year to end-February 2005, to 141,54 cents from
117,38 cents the previous year. The group declared a final dividend of 76,70 cents per share, up 20,8% from the 63,50 cents per share declared a year earlier, for a total dividend for the year of 96,5 cents.
Listed supermarket group Pick ‘n Pay is expected to report a 21% increase in its headline earnings per share for the year to the end of February this year, to 135 cents from 111,6 cents the previous year, when it announces its final results on Tuesday morning, according to a consensus of seven investment analysts.
Campaigners wanting to see lower fuel prices in South Africa should call on the public to use fuel more efficiently, rather than inviting the public to join a "national campaign to reduce the petrol price" by boycotting certain petrol products, according to the South Africa Petroleum Industry Association.
The creditworthiness of the South African banking system as a whole remains stable despite the socio-economic pressures it faces, global rating agency Standard & Poors (S&P) has concluded in its latest report on the country. At the end of 2004, South Africa had 21 registered banks, two mutual banks and 15 local branches of foreign banks.
Prices commanded by some of South Africa’s top wines at the 2005 Nederburg auction, which took place in Paarl on April 9, have skyrocketed by 90%, boosted by a more restricted, higher quality offering, with the average price per nine-litre case of wine rising to an all-time high of R2Â 145 from R843,36 in 2004.
A now cash-flush South African National Treasury may well decide, as one of the options available to it, to reduce the amount it planned to borrow offshore this year given that it has a much lower Budget deficit to fund after getting an extra R10-billion in the tax coffers than expected.
Diversified industrial group Imperial Holdings has concluded a black economic empowerment (BEE) transaction in which it will sell a 7,25% stake in the company to Lereko Mobility, a BEE company owned 51% by a broad-based BEE consortium, for the equivalent of R96,85 per Imperial share, or a total of R1,4-billion.